Division 8 stats
Leading all time run scorer (2011-2015) - Nicky Fusco (Wicklow County) - 1176 runs @ 30.15
Most runs in a Division 8 season - Nadun Srimal Jasinghe (Bagenalstown) - 582 runs (2014)
Highest score - Umar Saleem - 166* - Knockharley 2 vs The Hills 3 - Milverton - 28 June 2014
Leading all time wicket taker (2011-2015) - Khalid Chaudhary (Leinster/Wicklow County) - 46 wkts @ 16.57
Most wickets in a Division 8 season - Ali Qasim (Balbriggan) - 29 wkts (2011)
Best bowling - Chris Siddell - 7-11 - Malahide 4 vs Dundalk 1 - Malahide - 27 Apr 2014
Most matches - Nicky Fusco (Wicklow County) - 41 - (2011-2015)
Highest team score - 293-5 - Balbriggan 2 vs Merrion 6 - Balbriggan - 12 Aug 2012
Lowest team score - 32 all out - Dublin University 2 vs Knockharley 2 - Knockharley - 30 May 2015
In this year's Division 8, there look to be substantially more teams who will be looking down to the bottom few places with trepidation, rather than looking upwards with excitement. Three teams need to improve on last year's showing just to avoid relegation, and another couple may have slipped a bit over the winter. Time to look at the runners and riders.
When these columns start with a blank piece of paper, the leagues are displayed in order of where they finished in the league in 2015. That would place Wicklow County 1 in 6th place, with the question being whether they will rise or fall from that 6th place. The one problem they do have is that the clubs on the bottom half of that list all look to have improved a bit more than Wicklow County. So in order to stay up, they will need to beat the "top" teams in the division. Luckily Wicklow have good records against Leinster 4 (3-3), Knockharley (2-1) and Balbriggan 2 (1-0) . If they can repeat those results, they may have enough in the tank to get 6th place But that is a big if, and as someone has to finish 8th in our predictions, that dubious honour goes to Wicklow County.
North County 4 have been moving in the right direction. The last three seasons have seen the team improve on their position. But unlike Wicklow County 1, North County 4 don't have a particularly good record against anyone (apart from a rapidly improving Adamstown 2). And more importantly, County need to improve on last year's showing in winning Division 9 just to avoid relegation. It is not impossible, but we think they may just fail in their attempt to stay up.
Roger Kear once again takes the helm of Balbriggan 2, and the veteran will be central to the side's attempt to go for glory. The side have regressed a little bit in recent years, falling from a high of 54th place in 2013 to last year's 61st. That would be 5th, but with the wild cards that are Trinity and Adamstown, Balbriggan will be doing well to maintain their place. They should be too good for relegation (the matches against North County 4 will be crackers), but it may be no better than 6th.
Knockharley 2 have made big strides in recent years, with the club as a whole not being too far away from establishing itself as a force at the Division 4/5 level. But a few departures this winter may have put a halt to that. Any improvement on last year would mean promotion, but it could well be a step in the other direction, and 5th place.
Leinster have had a solid off season in the transfer market, and the fortunes of Leinster 4 should be no worse than last year. The Division 8 champions of 2014 have been between 59th for the last two seasons, and need to match that kind of level just to get 3rd. Normally we think they may have done it, but the presence of Dublin University 2 could mean Leinster drop a place to 4th.
Every year, we go on and on about the rise of Adamstown. Last year Adamstown 2 improved by 22 places on their 2014 placing, and although won't be able to do that this year, they will need a big improvement. THey have never faced a single one of their opponents this season, so anything we say is purely a hunch. We'll predict another improvement, but just missing out on promotion. 3rd place.
Clontarf 4 are one of only 31 teams in the league who were placed higher in the league at the end of last season compared to 2011. But their Division 7 campaign was a disaster, and there will be expectation in Castle Avenue that the team will bounce straight back. They have a winning record against all the teams in the division they have played before (including an impressive 7-2 record against Balbriggan 2), and there doesn't really look likely to be anyone to stand in their way....except for.....
The fate of Dublin University 2 is directly proportional to the strength of their first team. That holds true for most clubs, but especially when exam grades and application processes interfere in the normal problems of attracting new mwembers to a cricket club. A weak first team in 2015 meant that the 2nds could not maintain the gains they made in 2014, but a strong squad this season for the 1sts will have knock on effect for the 2nds. We predicted they woul dwin the league last year, and got it massively wrong. But surely we can't be wrong twice in a row?
Trintity's games are massively important, as they only play each team once. All three Division 8 matches in April involved the students, with clashes against Clontarf 4, Adamstown 2 and North County 4. It won't be long before we know whether our prediction holds any truth.
Â